Mom, boyfriend charged in abuse that left daughter paralyzed

HASTINGS, Minn. - An Apple Valley woman and her boyfriend are charged in an abuse case so severe that it left one of her young daughters partially paralyzed and unable to see.

A criminal complaint issued in Dakota County details the charges against 24-year-old Ashley Roff. Roff's boyfriend, Carlton Raymond Lewis, is charged in a warrant. Police are still looking for him.

Apple Valley Police first received a call in late April that Roff's two daughters had multiple bruises on their bodies, and when asked where they came from, Roff's 3-year-old said "Carlton" caused them by hitting her with a belt. Carlton was subsequently identified as Roff's boyfriend Carlton Lewis.

Two people spoke with police about their concerns, with one providing pictures of the bruising.

Just over two months later police received a report that Roff's 2-year-old daughter was hospitalized with a severe brain injury. Medical reports say Roff showed up at the hospital on June 25 and told doctors the child had run into a desk, and that she kept rolling out of bed and hitting her head.

She claimed the little girl had been injured just two days earlier.

Police later found out that the child had actually suffered the injury a full week before Roff brought her to the emergency room. Doctors determined she had suffered a significant brain and retinal hemorrhage, couldn't see out of one of her eyes, and was partially paralyzed.

When pressed by police, Roff admitted she waited a week before bringing the child in for treatment. Her boyfriend reportedly told investigators that in that week the child was groggy, semi-conscious, and wouldn't even use the toilet so they had to put her in diapers.

Lewis insisted that he told Roff to bring the little girl to the doctor but she refused, fearing the children would be taken away.

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